GPS Tracking News

GPS Tracking Devices

A New Mexico school district is investigating a claim made by a parent that a district school bus was speeding when it passed her on a local highway. School district officials said all buses in the district have GPS tracking devices installed, and with the use of GPS tracking software it is possible to pinpoint the speed and location of any bus at any time. While the district did not disclose what details were revealed via GPS tracking, they cited that the speeding bus incident will be handled internally as a personnel matter. GPS tracking software also has been used in the past to protect drivers from false accusations.

As car accidents remain the leading cause of death for U.S. teens, TrackingTheWorld is reminding parents of the benefits of GPS tracking devices to monitor teenage driving habits for both safety and peace of mind during prom and graduation season.

“Real time vehicle trackers allow parents to know where their teen’s vehicle is at all times, how fast it is moving, and even alert them to harsh driving such as sudden braking,” said Gilbert Walz, CEO of TrackingTheWorld, a firm exclusively specializing in tracking devices and GPS tracking software for more than 11-years.

For monitoring teenage drivers, TrackingTheWorld recommends its EnduroPro tracker, a compact real time tracking device which is easy to install and operate. The device can simply be placed in the vehicle’s glove compartment or under a seat, and can be magnetically mounted using TrackingTheWorld’s affordable MiniMag case.

With GPS tracking software services and an Internet connection, the EnduroPro also allows parents to create geo-fences, a set of pre-determined boundaries, for their teen. If the vehicle moves outside of the boundary, the tracker will immediately transmit an alert notifying the parents via programmed cell phone numbers. As added safety feature, the EnduroPro also comes equipped with a panic button which, when pressed, will automatically alert parents or other family members through a rapid series of location alerts, indicating that the teen needs emergency assistance.

Founded in 2003, TrackingTheWorld is based in Burlingame, California, and offers a broad selection of GPS tracking devices and accessories and tracking services. For more information about GPS tracking systems for teenage drivers, or to purchase GPS trackers directly from TrackingTheWorld distributors, visit www.trackingtheworld.com.

As parts of the western USA, particularly California, are reaching historic drought conditions, GPS tracking devices typically used to provide earthquake prediction data are providing some important measurements of the earth’s crust. As drought conditions worsen, the earth’s crust rises because of the lack of water in the soil which would normally weigh it down. By tracking the rises in the earth’s crust, scientists are able to measure and track the drought’s severity. In the west, the average rise of the earth’s crust over the last year is 4cm. However, the mountainous regions of California have seen rises as high as 15 cm this year.

The end of summer and back to school season mean only one thing to football fans everywhere–the much-anticipated start of the 2014 NFL season. The New York Giants are perhaps a step ahead of other teams for their use of GPS tracking software and tracking devices to monitor players during practice. The program, now in its second year, delivers personalized data for each participating player,which could include precise movement data and fatigue levels.

According to a 2014 study released by the Yale Law Journal, using GPS tracking for covert tracking operations for law enforcement departments is incredibly less expensive than utilizing officers for covert tracking operations. In fact, the study estimated the cost of GPS tracking to be 1000 times more affordable than tracking vehicles the old fashioned way, with officers trailing behind their target in unmarked vehicles.

In the study, the cost comparisons are dramatic– covert tracking using the standard 5 car surveillance box strategy is estimated to cost $275 dollars per hour, yet the cost of GPS tracking for law enforcement covert tracking can range from just 36-cents to around $5 per hour.

GPS tracking for law enforcement has been described as a “game changer” in the law enforcement community for both its cost effectiveness and the number of vehicles that can be tracked simultaneously.

You’ve probably seen them in your own community…large metal bins for dropping off clothing donations. As it turns out, not even donations given in good will are exempt from those who rummage through clothing bins in hopes of reselling or keeping the goods. One Baltimore company, that originally thought donations were down, has successfully retrieved stolen goods, and led authorities to recycled clothing thieves with the help of GPS tracking software– and in the process found out that donations weren’t down after all. By placing GPS tracking devices in various clothing items–in pockets, liners, etc., and using GPS tracking software, the company has successfully retrieved several batches of stolen clothing. Company officials use geofencing, a feature of the tracking software to receive cell phone alerts whenever one of their GPS tracking devices leaves the immediate area of the clothing collection bins. The clothing collected by the company is bailed and then shipped to third world countries.

South Bend, Indiana schools have taken a major step forward in making their school bus system more user-friendly. With the addition of GPS tracking devices and a mobile phone app called “My Stop”, parents can now track their child’s bus from the time it leaves the lot in the morning, when it is nearing their child’s stop, and even when it has safely delivered their children to school.

School officials report that the new GPS tracking program has reduced the number of phone calls regarding bus arrival times. Parents appreciate the program as it allows them to send their child to the bus stop just before the bus arrives, reducing the amount of time the child has to spend in the cold and reducing the amount of time the child is vulnerable to other risks.

Similar to just about every other electronic device, GPS tracking devices are becoming smaller and smaller with each advancement in technology. With the decreased sizes of GPS trackers, consumers are able to track smaller devices such as electronics like cameras and laptops.

Recently, an Arizona man realized the value of tracking smaller items of value after his home was burglarized. During the burglary, approximately $10-thousand dollars in jewelry along with a camera and other electronics were stolen. Due to the micro GPS tracking devices installed on the stolen camera, and satellite imagery provided by GPS tracking software, the victim was able to view the location of the suspect’s car and even identify in which area of the suspect’s home his belongings were being stored.

Although authorities were able to recover most of the victim’s belonging based on the GPS tracking information, some of his wife’s jewelry was not recovered. Authorities suspect it could have been pawned shortly after the crime. A suspect is in custody.

Florida and Iowa police departments are testing GPS tracking devices which enable them to fire sticky GPS “darts” at fleeing vehicles in hopes of cutting off dangerous, high-speed pursuits to increase both public and officer safety. Using a firing mechanism installed in the front of the police cruiser, officers can deploy the GPS tracking devices from the inside of their cars. The deployed GPS darts are designed to stick to fleeing vehicles allowing police to track them from a safe distance using GPS tracking software. Here’s another post on GPS tracking for law enforcement.